Are you cooped up at home with your kids during this quarantine? If you’re already running out of fun yet informative activities for them, now is a great opportunity to teach your kid about how your HVAC system works to keep you comfortable and how to maintain it.
Your kids are probably still e-learning with virtual classes while at home … so they’ll be glad to get some hands-on training with your HVAC system! (Right? Maybe?)
Don’t Mess with the Thermostat!
As you know, you want to keep your home as cool as possible in cold weather, and as warm as possible in warm weather, as long as everyone is comfortable.
And while kids (and spouses!) can add and remove blankets and layers, or talk to you if they really are too cold or too hot, it’s worth a discussion before cranking the thermostat one way or the other!
Some kids will turn your thermostat up and down at will, even though they aren’t the one paying the bill. They most likely don’t even realize the impact that a few degrees in temperature can have on monthly bills. So instead of just telling your kids again, “Stop messing with the thermostat! You don’t pay the bills!” consider sitting them down and explaining exactly how energy efficiency works, and the actual impact in $$$.
You save 1% on your monthly bill for keeping your home a degree closer to the outside temperature while you sleep. That means, for example, if your heating bill was $200 this month, and you had kept it 10 degrees cooler while sleeping, you’d save 10%. That’s $20!
Kids are more likely to see the value in saving when they can visualize it as a chunk of their monthly allowance! Plus, you get a math lesson in. (Parent-of-the-Year Award, right?)
Changing Filters
Imagine this future scenario: your adult child calls you in a panic, telling you that their furnace is making all sorts of odd noises and needs major repairs. Offhandedly, you say, “I’m sorry about that, kiddo. Hopefully, you have been getting tune-ups and you changed your filters often enough … but other than that, sometimes these things just happen.”
And they answer, “Changed my filter? What filter?”
Uh, not great!
So, explaining the basics of an HVAC system to your younger child now will serve them well as a young adult. Take your kid over to the air handler and show them how changing the filter works, and let them know they should do it every few months, how different systems may require different filters, etc. This “everyday smarts” tutorial is similar to teaching them how to check the oil in their car, or how to budget. But many people forget to teach their kids about major household appliances!
It’s not something you learn in school.
Yes, now that your kids are “homeschooled,” it’s a great chance to not only do a bit of spring cleaning as a family, but also to teach your kids some things about the home and how to maintain it. Normally, we all have such busy lives, and while things are certainly a bit stressful right now, you may find that you have some extra time to learn and teach some very valuable lessons!
In the meantime, Weather Master is open and committed to delivering the high-quality HVAC, plumbing and electrical services to the Raleigh, NC area that we always have. You’re always free to contact us online or call us at (919) 853-7910.